'Normcore' is the hot new trend in menswear

Bland anti-style strikes a collective chord in fashion

(ANSA) - Rome, July 3 - Somewhere between the new frontier in New York and tradition in Italian fashion capital Milan, a new definition has crept into men's wear fashion jargon - "normcore". Described as an anti-style invested in nondescript, timeless and logo-free clothes, this unheard-of concept in high fashion is conquering an unprecedented following, as the men's wear spring-summer 2015 collections in Milan have just shown - with a few obvious exceptions. The concept actually dates back to over 10 years ago.

It was conceived by science fiction author William Gibson for his logo-phobic character Cayce Pollard in Pattern Recognition. And it was Gibson's portrayal of a fastidiously casual and anonymous dresser that led New York Trend agency K-Hole to launch the term described in their Youth Mode report published in October last year as a concept that "moves away from a coolness that relies on difference to a post-authenticity that opts for sameness". Though the fad applies to both genders, it is being launched in men's wear, often at the forefront of fashion's cycles with women more prone to fall for seasonal flings with fads.

The notion of "normcore" might appear like fashion nonsense - a desire to blend in rather than stand out. Two decades ago, Mark Simpson coined the term "metrosexual" to describe "the single young man with a high disposable income, working or living in the city", predicting he was "the most promising consumer market of the decade". The metrosexuals' "out and proud male vanity" then developed more recently into a new wave of exhibitionist male consumers putting the accent on the sexual in metrosexual, widely dubbed "spornosexuals" - men who hone and pamper their bodies as the ultimate fashion accessory to be enhanced through clothing.

Meanwhile, men's wear sales have been steadily expanding and the fashion barometer has been shifting to accommodate an ever-growing market. Overall in 2013, men's wear sales grew a reported 5% worldwide, slightly outpacing women's wear, according to London-based market intelligence firm Euromonitor. Italian men's wear was worth 8.5 billion euros in 2013.

Prada, a fashion house traditionally focused on women's wear, announced in April it hopes to nearly double its men's wear sales to 1.5 billion over the next three to five years. And the general mood in men's wear just seen in Milan was a sedate, highly wearable compromise between traditional sartorial excellence and avant-garde.

Designers have taken stock of the underlying appeal of "plain" after an exhibitionist binge - exploring the power of high-end understated clothes which reflect the reality of men's lives today. The new fashion understatement at the core of "normcore" however is far from normal. It's all about quality which flirts with anonymity and styles seen on the street reproduced through exclusive design, craft and materials in such an understated way only those in the know notice.

Miuccia Prada, always at the forefront of fashion, recently said of her spring-summer 2015 collection for him and her showcased in Milan last month that it was about "taking stock of what counts" with items that are "so classic they look incredibly new".

Giorgio Armani, whose company is turning 40 next year, also just showcased a man dressed for the real world - though a few items bow to the "metrosexual" mode and bring to mind its symbol, soccer star David Beckham. The near-perfect procession of clothes in traditional shades dominated by blue seen at Florence's Pitti trade fair and Milan's men's shows was all about timeless, formal and casual staples for men who don't need to point out their status by being different.

The new mania for sneakers, for example, mixed and matched to suit any occasion - from the office to a night out on the town - has seen a wave of expensive new models designed by top fashion houses, from Valentino to Saint Laurent and Céline, openly bowing to all-time classics seen on the street for decades - from the Adidas Stan Smiths to Nike's Air Force Ones. The serious dapper mode now translates into wardrobe basics - from well-cut trousers to the popular slip-on shoes - the more luxuriously plain and detail-free the better. From tailor Lardini's well-suited gentleman to Gucci's bedevilled sailor, men next spring will be just plain unique and will have no need to shout about it.